Colts promote former rugby player Daniel Adongo to active roster

Posted by Josh Alper on December 3, 2013, 4:03 PM EST

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When Daniel Adongo got an invitation to training camp with the Indianapolis Colts this summer, it came as something of a surprise.

Not only was Adongo not actively pursuing a job in the NFL, he wasn’t even playing football. Adongo was a professional rugby player from Kenya whose athleticism jumped out at the team while they were looking for pass rushing prospects with upside. If that invitation came as a shock to Adongo, imagine what he must be feeling now that he’s on the team’s 53-man roster.

The Colts promoted Adongo from the practice squad on Tuesday and he’ll be in the mix for snaps at outside linebacker in the coming weeks. The Colts also promoted tackle Xavier Nixon, who spent time on the active roster earlier this season after being signed off of Washington’s practice squad.

Linebacker Mario Harvey and running back Daniel Herron were both placed on injured reserve, creating the vacancies on the active roster.